Welding jig for car sides



July 13, 1954 A, C, SCHANZ 2,683,433

WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES l Original Filed July 3l, 1948 l0 Sheets-Sheet l m s /S\ Y N N' T N ww y Nl l? laf m ,n NY

NI A Nl a m' L\ 3 s Nn e @l z N lf/2m ATTO R N EY A. C. SCHANZ WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES July 13, 1954 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 31, 1948 ATTOR N EY July 13, 1954 A.' c. SCHANZ 2,683,433

WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES Original Filed July 3l, 1948 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 MCQMM? ATTORNEY July 13, 1954 A. c. SCHANZ WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES 10 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed July 31, 1948 ATTO R N EY A. C. SCHANZ WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES Original Filed July 3l, 1948 July 13, 1954 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 gmc/Wto@ ATTORNEY M GMM? July 13, 1954 A. c. scHANz 2,683,433

WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES Original Filed July 5l, 1948 lO Sheets-Sheet 6 ATTO R N EY July 13, 1954 A. C. SCHANZ 2,683,433

WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES Original Filed July 31, 1948 l0 Sheets-Sheet 7 @figa l Syvum/1M ATTO R N EY July 13, 1954 A. c. scHANz WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES l0 Sheets-Sheet 8 Original Filed July 31, 1948 fed.

3mm @JAW GM @y 7?. Q'wm/ ATTOR N EY WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES Original Filed July 51, 1948 lO Sheets-Sheet 9 ATTORNEY July v13, 1954 A. c. scHANz 2,683,433

WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES Original Filed July 3l, 1948 10 Sheets-Sheet lO gig/4.

ATTORNEY atented July 13, 195,4!-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WELDING JIG FOR CAR SIDES @riginal application July 31, 1948, Serial No. 41,834. Divided and this application January l1, 1950, Serial No. 137,934

3 Claims.

This invention relates to Welding jigs and is a division of my application `Serial No. 41,834, filed July 31, 1948.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved jig on which Work pieces can be supported and moved to different stations for welding operations.

Another object of the invention is to provide an assembly line jig for the Welding of panelsv and associated parts to form a freight car side wall.

A further object of the invention is to provide a jig with improved devices for accurately positioning parts of a car wall for welding operations.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a study of the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an upside down side elevational View of a side Wall blanket for railroad cars formed of a plurality of welded together panels.

Figure 2 is an upside down side elevational View of the side wall blanket having a bottom side sill welded thereto.

Figure 3 is an upside down side elevational view of a completed side wall unit showing the stakes, top angle plate and bottom side sill welded to the blanket.

Figure 4 is a plan View of the iirst portion of a continuous jig.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the jig shown in Figure 4 taken on line 5 5.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view through the rst welding machine and jig showing the welding and clamping devices in welding position with the blanket panels.

Figure 7 is a sectional View of the second Welding machine taken on line 'i--l of Figure 8.

Figure 8 is a side elevational View of the Welding machine at the second station.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the welding machine at the second station.

Figure 10 is a plan view of the jig at the second station.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary sectional View of the jig taken on line Il-il of Figure l0.

Figure 12 is a front elevational View, partly in section, of the Welding machine at the third assembly line station.

Figure 15 is a fragmentary sectional View of the jig taken on line I5-I5 of Figure 14.

Figure 16 is a sectional view of the jig taken on line IS-IB of Figure 4.

A permanently assembled side wall unit I for a railroad car is shown in Figure 3, the unit being designed for a hopper car for illustration purposes. This unit is composed of a plurality of sheet metal panels 2 welded together along their adjacent edge portions 3 to form a blanket. The upper portion of the blanket is bent to slope inwardly along line 4. To this blanket there is welded a top L-shaped angle plate 5 and a U- shaped bottom sill 6. Stakes 'l are welded to the blanket, the top angle plate and the bottom side sill and are arranged so that they overlie the welds 3. There are also stakes located between the Welds 3.

The component parts of the car side unit are welded together at three stations along` a continuous assembly line, the assembly line being in the form of a jig 8. Longitudinally extending I beams 9 and transversely extending I beams I0 form the base structure of the jig. Beams 9 are suitably secured to the iloor ll and beams I0 are secured across the tops of beams e by clamp means I2 permitting adjustment of beams I0 in a longitudinal direction. Rollers I3 are located adjacent each of the transverse beams and are rotatably mounted on carriers I4 xed to rods I5 extending into cylinders It suitably secured to the adjacent beams Iii. Rods l5 extend into the cylinders and have pistons ll secured thereto. Air under pressure is controlled to iiow into the cylinders at either end of the pistons through air hose connections i8 and I9, such hoses being connected with a suitable source of air under presssure and under the control of a manually operable valve. Rollers I3 provide an elevating means for supporting the panel blanket when it is to be moved from one welding station to another and when such movement is to take place, air is admitted into the cylinders to elevate the rollers to a position above a work supporting table mounted on the jig base. After the blanket has reached each welding station, the rollers are lowered below the top surface of the supporting table.

Supported on the base of the jig and particularly on beams It is table structure which diifers slightly at each of the three welding stations to accommodate the location of the weldment. v The table structure consists of longitudinally extending side beams 2t, transverse beams 22 exof 'car side blankets. 'table at" the first welding `station are arranged epesses 23, angle members 20 and intermediate beamsI 2|. Suitably secured on the top. of some of the beams 22 at the first welding station and substantially vcoextensive therewith is an angle member Z5 formed of copper. The other beams 22 at this welding station are higher than the copper capped beams so that the. top surface thereof is in alignment with the top surface of the copper members 25. The copper members are preferably located in positions where the panelsy areto be welded together as indicated at 3. it will be noted that the longitudinalbeams 20 are adjustable transversely toaccommodate different sizes Along each side of the bell crank clampsv 26 pivoted at 21 to brackets 23 fixed on beamsY il. Control rods'29 are pivoted to the bell crank clamps and terminate in pistons located within cylinders`30 whereincompressed air is supplied to aotuateV the pistons. The blanket panel sheets 2 vare laid sidewise adjacent each otheron thejig table and are held by clamps '26 along the top and bottom edges against members 24 on the longitudinal table beams 2t whereupon these component parts are ready for `'the welding operation to join them together.

Such welding is 'preferably' of the submerged arc type.

The welding is done at three stations along the jig line by welding machines 3 I having many Asimilar characteristics which will not be described. These machines are mounted on tracks 32 extending outside of the jig and parallel with Ibeams 9 so'that the machines can be moved longitudinally at each station for a proper placement with respect Yto the work to 'be welded.` The gantry is secured on trucks 33 carrying flanged wheels 34 and ateach end of each truck is secured a column structure 35 on top of which is mounted a rectangular top framework made up of end girder structures 36 and side girder structures 3l. Driving motors 33. are mounted on the columns at one end of the `trucks and operate gears 'meshing with drive gears d!! fixed on axles d! on which wheelsB are mounted. Suitable mechanism (not shown) is provided for controlling the motor fordriving the welding machine longitudinally'with respect to the assembly line jig. Braces `53 reinforce the connections between the top yframework and the columns while gusset plates 5t reinforce the corners of the top framework.

A vertically adjustableplaten' P is carried by the gantry. The platen consists of a rectangular `frame having front and rear beams 42 and longitudinal beams 55 extending between columns 35 to which is fixed internally threaded nuts-43 through which elevating screws 44 extend. These screws are anchored at their base portions to the trucks and extend through suitable lbearings 45 in the top framework. At .the upper ends of the elevating screws are fixed gears l5 meshing with gears lil, Iand gears 4l are fixed on shafts a8 vniount-ed in'suitable'bearings'inthe top framework. Gears til on shafts 48 mesh with'gears 5G on shaftl 5 t. This shaft is driven by reversible portion engaging a vertically extending guide rod 5l xed in each gantry column by means of angle irons `58.

The weight ofthe platen P is counterbalanced by pneumatic means in order to relieve the pressure on theelevating screws 44 and nuts i3 to thereby reducewto a minimum the power required to raise or Vlower the platen. This pneumatic means takes the form of two opposite cylinders 59 mounted on the tops of trucks 33 and carrying pistons 6I having rods S2 connected therewith. These rods extend through the tops of the cylinders and are connected with the side beams 55 of the platen. These cylinders have a connection 63 by means of which compressed air can be .admitted below the pistons at a desired pressure which normally is vapproximately the force needed to counterbalance the weight of the platen.

The platen P carries the welding equipment and the means for holding the pieces to be welded together; At the yfirst welding station on the jig assembly line a welding equipment supporting beam 65 extends between and is secured on the tops of longitudinal platen beams 55. The welding equipment carried by beam d iconsists of a head having afbase carriage et, a bottom housing 6l, driving motor' 68, electrode wire reel 89 and a flux containing hopperlii.' The head is driven along the supporting beams 65by a drive roller ll rotated by the motor and engaging a rail 72 fixed to the supporting beam S5. rFhe carriage is maintained in position by a guide roller i3 engaging a track't on beam S5 and another guide rollei" 75 engaging th-e rail i2 on the opposite side from the driving roller ll. Flux tube 'i6 extends downwardly from the hopper 'i6 and the electrode wirell that is wound around reel 69 projects downwardly through tube i8. The electrode 'Il is electrically connected-with a suitable` welding generator mounted on the upper framework of the gantry. It has been seen that the platen can be adjusted up and down on the gantry and, through a suitable control of motor 6B, the electrode carriage can be moved transversely of the jig and the platen to make the weldment 3. The electrode and the flux tube are located by adjustment of the platen, operation of motor 68 and |by the position of the gantry on its tracks to place the electrode directly above the abutting ends of the side unit panels 2 at the pointV where the weld is to 'bestarted Upon operation. of the motor 58 the welding carriage and electrode will be moved along the junction of the panels 2 until the adjacent edges 3 are welded together, the current being grounded through the copper plate 2'5v attached to the metallic table and base structure on which the panels are clamped.

The platen' P of the welding machine at the first station also carries means for holding the adjacent edges of panels in position for weldment against the copper plates 25. Two series of clamping devices are provided and each series is arranged in rows. .Each device consists of a clamp finger 80 fixed on the'end'of lever 8| that is pivotally mounted on a bracket 82 welded to an angle iron section 82. These angle iron sections 82 extend transversely between platen beams 55 and are secured by bolts 82a to supporting plates 83 extending transversely between and secured to the platen beams 55. Outer hollow beams 85 extend transversely between the platen beams 55 and are secured thereto by angle irons 95. Within each beam 85 and coextensive therewith is arranged a beam 81 having a top plate 81 with which a screw member 89 cooperates to raise and lower the beams 81. These screw members are threaded through the top portion of beams 85. An inverted cup-shaped member 83 is coextensive with and fixed to the under side of each of the beams 81 and beneath the top of such cup-shaped member and coextensive therewith is arranged an air tube 86. Beneath the air tube and coextensive therewith, within the cup member 83, is an actuator plate 88 with which is engaged a series of plungers 90 extending through guides 9| and engaging levers 8|. The tubes have a suitable connection with a source of air under pressure and they will exert a uniform pressure against plungers 90 to thereby exert a similar pressure against the clamping ngers 80 to hold the adjacent edges of panels 2 against the copper plates 25. These clamping devices are fixed to and move with the platen beams 55 so that they are properly located by adjustment or" the gantry and the platen. When the adjacent edges of two panels are welded together, the gantry is moved along its tracks to the next adjacent edges of panels 2 to be welded and is positioned for such welding operation.

After the welding operations have been nished lat station one the gantry platen carrying the welding head and the clamps is elevated and rollers I3 are moved upwardly pneumatically to carry the blanket wall consisting of the welded together plates 2 above the level of the jig table at station one whereupon the blanketcan be moved down the assembly line table to station two where the top angle plate and bottom side sill are welded to the blanket. The portion of the jig at station two is shown in Figures 7, 10 and ll and the welding machine employed at this station is shown in Figures '7, 8 and 9.

At the second station in the assembly line the U-shaped bottom sill E is placed on the wall blanket adjacent the bottom edge thereof and the top angle plate 5 is placed on the other edge portion of the wall blanket in a direction extending longitudinally of the assembly line jig. At

this station the middle beam structure 2| is r eliminated and the side table beams 20 and 20 have fastened thereon longitudinally extending copper plates and |0| which form a continuation or" similarly located plates 24 at the first jig station. On top of the beams 22 between the copper plates is a filler plate 24'. The wall blanket rests at its ends on the copper plates and along its intermediate portion on the filler plates 24. Plate |00 has an upstanding lip |02 against which a leg of the top angle plate is positioned and the top edge of the fall blanket projects over the top ofa portion of this leg of the top angle plate. Thetop angle plate is positioned against the lip |02 of the copper plate by a series of clamping heads |03 having rods |04 extending into cylinders |05 fixed on top of the beams l0 and within the cylinders `are pistons y|06V connectedwith the rods |04. These cylindersY are provided with air connections |01 andv-lllrthat are Aconnected withv a source. of compressed air 6 whereby the clamping heads |03 can be controlled for release of or lto engage and hold the top angle plate in position for welding.

The top angle plate is also held in position by a series of vertical clamps |09 that engage the top of the uppermost leg of the angle plate as located on the jig. These clamps are operated by rods that are connected with pistons operable within cylinders ||2. vSuitable connections ||3 and ||4 are associated with the cylinders to admit air under pressure on opposite sides of pistons and in this manner the selection oi the air inlet will actuate the bell crank clamps |09 vertically into pressure engagement with the leg of the top angle plate or they will be released from such position. The clamps are guided by pins |09 and the pivotal connection 09@ rides in a slot in bracket ||0 xed to beam 20. The jig-is provided with a plurality of rollers H5 for positioning the edge of the blanket adjacent the bottom side sill 6. These rollers are carried by brackets ||6 fixed on base members Hi' secured between adjacent base beams Iii. The table is also provided with rollers |13 on which the panel blanket is supported. The rollers I3 are actuated in the same manner at this station as they were at the rst station. During the welding operation the rollers lie below the wall blanket and when the welding operation is completed the rollers are elevated so that the blanket clears the welding table and can be pushed on to the third jig station.

The general characteristics and structure or^ the welding machine at station two was previously described. As was the case with the welding machine at station one, the platen P of the welding machine at station two carries clamping means and the welding equipment.

The clamping means on the welding machine' for the bottom side sill at station two consists of a hollow beam structure |20 having an internal hollow beam structure |2| carried by a screw |22 that is adjustable with respect to beam |20. The beam |20 extends longitudinally of the jig between platen beams 42 and is suitably secured at its ends thereto. A housing |23 is secured to the bottom of beam |20 and encloses a rubber tube |24 bearing against an actuator plate |25 that is coextensive with housing |23. At intervals along beam |20 is arranged clamping heads |26 projecting below beam |20 and bearing against actuator plate |25. These plunger clamps |26 are arranged to bear at intervals against the uppermost base portion of the bottom side sill 6 and a suitable compressed air connection is associated with tube |24 to force the plungers |26 against rail 6 as may be desired to hold it in position during the welding operation.

The top end of the wall blanket is held against the leg of the top angle plate overlying the copper plate by pressure clamping devices similar to those previously described in connection with the hold down means for adjacent edges or" the wall panels at the first station in the assembly line. In the present instance there is a beam |21 extending between platen beams d2 and secured thereto at its ends. This hollow beam |21 encloses a hollow beam |23 supported by a `screw member |29 adjustably associated with the top portion of beam |21. Housing |29 is iixed to the bottom of beam |28 and encloses a rubbertubing |30 under which lies an actuator plate |3I. This actuator plate operates a series oft plungers |32 eachuof 4 which cooperates with 7 a pivoted lever |33 carrying a clamping linger i3d. A suitable compressed air connection is provided for tube so that the plungers can be moved to press the clamp lingers |34 against the top edge of the wall blanket at a desired pressure to hold the top angle plate in position for the welding operation at this station. The gantry at the second station in the assembly line carries a welding head structure |35 which is supported on a hollow beam |36 extending across and xed to the top portions of platen beams 42. This welding head structure includes reversible electric motor |31 having a driving roller |38 frictionally engaging a track |39 fixed to the beam H36. The welding head also carries guide rollers Uhl and MI. Also associated with this welding head is a flux hopper |42 and a reel i553 for feeding electrode wire |44 that extends through tube M5 which also` delivers flux in advance of the electrode. An electric welding generator |45 is suitably connected with the elec-- trode of this welding head |35. This welding head is movable longitudinally of the jig and of the platen when motor |37 is operated as the rotation of roller |38 against the stationary track E39 will cause the welding head carrier to move in a longitudinal direction. Such longitudinal movement of the welding head will cause the electrode to move along the top edge of the wall blanket for welding it to the top angle plate 5.

Another welding head structure is arranged to carry two electrodes for welding the legs of the channel bottom sill t to the wall blanket. The welding equipment is mounted on a structure consisting of a rectangular upper I framework l5! having legs |52 depending from each corner thereof and such legs are fastened to beams :l2 of the platen. A welding equipment carrier structure cverlies this supporting structure and is composed of a top rectangular framework |53 and legs i555 that have a carriage |55 fied thereto. This carriage supports flux hoppers it and guide arms |57 at the ends of which are mounted guide rollers |38. Electrode wire reels E59 are also carried by this carriage and the wiring |59' extends downwardly and is suitably located behind the guide rollers |58. rThe electro-de and guide means may be shifted relatively by mechanism that includes a shaft it@ driven from motor Eel mounted on the carsuch shaft having oppositely disposed worin gears cooperating with means on the hoppers for causing such relative movement of the hoppers to and from each other. This adjustment serves to locate the rollers and the electrodes in the proper position with respect to the lower edges of the bottom legs of the side sill S. in the upper part of the framework |53 is fixed a reversible motor |62 gea-red to rotate shaft |53 on which rollers |643 are mounted. This shaft E63 is also rotatably mounted in the upper framework |53 and the rollers |E4 frictionally engage track surfaces |65 extending along the top of framework When the motor |62 is driven it will rotate shaft E63 and the rollers it@ fixed thereon will engage the tracks |85 and rictionaily drive the carriage member forward or backward between the platen beams whereby the electrodes and guides will be properly placed and operated to weld the bottom side sill to the All eration of motors |35 and |62 will cause the welding heads to move along such car side members from one end to the other end. Welding generators |66 are connected in a suitable manner with the dual electrodes to transmit current thereto. The platen is then raised, the clamps released and the rollers I3 elevated whereupon the wall blanket can be pushed on to the third station where the stakes I are welded thereon.

After the wall blanket is moved to station three on the jig line, rollers |3 are lowered below the surface of the welding table. At this location the jig has the same base support consisting of beams 9 and |0 and table beams 2U and 22 as previously described, beams 2|) having top plates 24 thereon and beams 22 having copper plates thereon in the panel unit where the stakes are to be welded. On the ends of some of the table beams 2d are xed brackets |10 on which angular spacer arms lll are pivotally mounted. The free ends |12 of these pivoted spacer arms are formed to straddle stakes l' and thereby locate them in their proper positions on the wall blanket. No side clamps are required at this station as the panel blanket will be located by roller brackets |70 on each side of the table.

This station of the jig assembly line employs a series of rollers |13, between the spacer arms, upon which the panel blanket rests. The jig at this station also has the locator rollers ||5 as previously described. The welding machine used at the third station for welding the stakes to the wall blanket has generally been heretofore described. In this instance the platen P carries welding equipment and clamp means for holding the stakes in position during the welding operation. `Such welding equipment is of the dual head type described in connection with the welding machine at station two and the clamping means is similar to that des ribed in connection with the machine at station two for holding the bottom side sill in position. The same numerals employed in Figure 7 in describing the welding equipment and the hold down mechanism are used in this instance. At this station the gantry is moved along tracks 32 to desired position over the blanket as each stake is to be welded, the platen P is lowered to clamp the stake in welding position and to locate the guides and electrodes. Motor |62 is actuated to move the welding head carriage along the edges of the stakes bearing against the side wall blanket in a manner similar to that employed at station one. This operation is repeated for each position in which the gantry is located for welding the stakes. When the stakewelding is completed the platen is elevated and the rollers 3 are elevated whereupon the assembled sidewall structure can be rolled on for further treatment.

The invention may be modied in various respects as will occur to those skilled in the art and the exclusive use of all modicationsas come within thescopc of the appended claims is contemplated.

What is claimed is:

l. In a Welding jig, a continuous table providing a plurality of stations at which the work to be welded is supported on the top of the table during successive welding operations, transversely mounted rollers located at spaced intervals the entire length of said table, said rollers being normally positioned below the top of said table out of engagement with said work, and power actuated means operable to raise said rollers into engagement `with said work upon completion of the welding operation at one station to elevate and support the work above the top of the table for movement thereof to the next station, said power actuated means being operable to then lower said rollers whereby to lower the work onto the table at said next station, and clamping means mounted on said table at each station and engageable with the work for holding the work at each said station during the welding operation.

2. In a welding jig, a continuous table providing a plurality of stations for supporting the component parts of a railway car wall structure during successive welding operations, transversely mounted rollers located at spaced intervals the entire length of said table, said rollers being normally positioned below the top of said table out of engagement with said wall structure, power actuated means operable to raise said rollers into engagement with said wall structure upon completion of the welding operation at one station to elevate and support said wall structure above the top of the table for movement thereof to the next station, said power actuated means being operable to then lower said rollers whereby to lower said wall structure onto the table at the next station, and clamping means mounted on the table at each station and engageable with the wall structure for holding said wall structure at each station during welding operations, said clamping means at one of said stations including bell-crank clamps pivotally mounted on opposite sides of said table and having a bearing portion for engaging the upper surface of said wall structure whereby to hold said wall structure against the table during'welding operations, and power actuated means for moving said clamps toward and away from clamping position.

3. In a welding jig, a continuous table providing a plurality of stations for supporting the component parts of a railway car wall structure during successive welding operations, transversely mounted rollers located at spaced intervals the entire length of said table, said rollers being normally positioned below the top of said table out of engagement with said wall structure, power actuated means operable to raise said rollers into engagement with said wall structure upon completion of the welding operation at one station to elevate and support said wall structure above the top of the table for movement thereof to the next station, said power actuated means being operable to then lower said rollers whereby to lower the wall structure onto the table at the next station, and clamping means mounted on the table at each station and engageable with the Wall structure for holding said wall structure at each said station during the welding operation, said clamping means at one of the stations including a series of vertically mounts rollers located along one side of the table and adapted to engage an edge of the wall structure, and clamps on the other side having portions engageable respectively with the upper surface and edge of the wall structure whereby to retain said wall structure against the table top and against said vertically mounted rollers.

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